Combination lock with electrical switch control



Jan. 5, 1937. G. T. HosKlNG V 2,067,125

COMBINATION LOCK WITH ELECTRICAL SWITCH CONTROL Filed `April 25, 1955Fkai,

Patented Jan. 5, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE COMBINATION LOCK WITHELECTRICAL SWITCH CONTROL 6 Claims.

This invention is an electric switch and locking means for preventingsurreptitious operation thereof, and is a continuation in part ofapplication Serial No. 666,752, filed April i9, 1933.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide a permutation lock soconstructed and arranged as to control one or more electric circuits,such for instance as operating circuits of the type commonly installedas standard equipment on motor vehicles. A further object is to providea circuit control lock so constructed and arranged that short-circuitingof the standard type ignition switch, so as to accomplish surreptitiousand unauthorized operation of the vehicle, will be unavailing.

The invention will be hereinafter fully set forth and particularlypointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawing, Fig. i is a top plan View illustrating alock of the character described and claimed in the application forpatent above identified, parts of the top of the casing being brokenaway. Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view illustrating the details ofthe operating cam for the lock slide bar and the connections between thesame and the movable element of an electric switch. Fig. 3 is a detailplan view illustrating the movable and fixed contacts of the switch.Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the. application of theswitch to the controlling circuits of a motor vehicle.

Referring to the drawing, A designates the casing of a lock such asillustrated in the application for patent above identified. Said lock,which is herein referred to and shown for pur poses of illustration,comprises a rectangular slide bar I9 of skeleton form, which is providedwith lugs 23 adapted to fit into complemental recesses Il in the tumblerdisks a, b, c. A spring 2| normally urges the slide bar to a forwardposition, and the front side of the slide bar is preferably offset, asindicated at 24, to provide a slight recess 25 having a convexed surfaceas shown. In operation, the slide bar is movable against the tension ofthe spring while the recesses Il are in register with the lugs 23. Thelock is held against such movement while the disks a, b and c are inadjusted positions with the recesses il, out of alinement with the lugs23. Permutation means is provided to control the position of the disksand to accomplish relative adjustments of the parts to accomplishdifferent combinations, all of which is clearly set forth in theapplication Serial No. 666,752, and need not be described in detailhere.

Preferably located within the casing A is a (Cl. ZOO- 43) master-switchS, which in turn is mounted in a casing 3Q of di-electric material, saidcasing being preferably constructed of two separable parts which arenormally held in abutted relation by suitable bolts in a manner wellunderstood in the switch art. Extending upwardly from the top of theswitch casing is a sleeve 3i, in which is rotatably mounted a cam shaft32, provided at its upper end with an enlargement or head 33, in whichis secured an operating handle 311, To the lower end of the shaft 32 issecured a radially disposed cam arm 35, the outer end of which extendsthrough a slot in the casing, at a position to engage the offset portion24 of the slide bar IS. The end of said cam arm is provided with a pointSii so as to engage the surface 25, and a suitable spring-washer 3l isprovided to maintain a tension on the shaft.

In the lower part of the casing 36 is mounted a stud 38 in axialalinement with the cam shaft 32 but spaced therefrom, the lower portionof said stud being projected through the casing and provided with athreaded terminal, whereby it may be connected to a main cable 39 havingbranches leading to the starting motor, ignition, etc., which normallycontrol the starting and operation of the motor vehicle engine.Pivotally mounted on the stud 38 is a movable switch arm dii, which iscomplemental to a fixed contact lli projecting into the casing Sil,which may be of any desired construction. As shown, it consists of athreaded socket to which may be connected the cable lllEL leading from asuitable source of electrical energy, such as the usual storage batteryB. The fixed contact 4l is so positioned that it lies in the path ofmovement of the free end of the switch arm 40, and said switch arm isconnected with the cam arm 35 by means of a coil spring 42.

In operation, with the parts in locked position, the outer pointed endof the cam arm 36 engages the surface 25 of the oset portion 24 of theslide bar, so that the camA arm cannot. be moved until the slide bar isreleased. In moving the cam member to this position by means of thehandle 34, the pull upon the spring 4.2 will move the switch arm 4i! outof engagement with its fixed contact by a snap action. v

While the parts are in such positions, therefore, it is impossible to=move the cam arm toy such a position as will bring the switch contactsinto closed engagement, because the locking lugs 23 are engaged with theperipheries of the disks. The arrangement of the spring i2 is such thatas the cam arm is moved by manual rotation of the shaft 32, said springmoves to one side or the other of the dead center, as the case may be,and exerts a pull on the movable Contact 40, which results in a snapaction. In order to close the switch, it is first necessary tomanipulate the tumbler disks so as to release the slide bar and free itfor movement against the tension of the spring 2|. As soon as the properadjustment of the locking mechanism has been made, rearward movement ofthe slide bar is accomplished by manually rotating the cam shaft 32 ina` direction to bring the end of the cam against the convexed surface25, the effect of which engagement is to impart a forced rearwardmovement to theslide bar against the tension of its spring 2l. As thefree end of the cam arm moves the spring i42 across the dead center, theswitch arm 40 is snapped into engagement with the fixed contact, therebyclosing the circuit. While the switch is in circuit closed position, thetumbler disks are not disturbed, and therefore the lugs 23 and recessesIl are always so positioned that free movement of the cam shaft ispermitted, and therefore the switch is free for operation. To break thecircuit and lock the switch, it is only necessary to rotate the camshaft in the reverse direction so as to move the switch arm 39 out ofengagement with the xed contact. Just as soon as the cam arm reaches aposition which, will accomplish this adjustment, the pressure oi' thecam arm upon the slide bar is relieved and the spring 2| will move theslide bar forwardly, after which the tumbler disks may be rotated tomove the recesses Il out of register with the lugs 23, thereby againlocking the slide bar. In this manner, the parts are positively lockeduntil the tumbler disks are again adjusted to the predeterminedpositions for which they are set to release the slide bar.

Referring more particularly to Fig. 4, a speciflc application of theinvention is shown for the purposes of illustration. It will be observedthat the main switch S is by-passed by a grounded circuit :c controlledby a manually operated switch located at the instrument board. Leadingfrom the fixed contact 4| is a circuit :1:1 leading to the startingmotor SM. Leading from said fixed contact 4| is another circuit x2,which is provided with several branches, one of which, 3:3, leads to thelighting switch LS, which controls the head lights, the horn, the taillight, and the stop light in a well known manner. Another branch :c4leads to the generator in the usual manner.

Also connected with the main xed contact 4| is a branch circuit m5,which leads to the distributor and the spark plugs, said circuit beingcontrolled by a manual switch m6 on the dash board in the usual manner.Obviously, as long as the circuit is broken at the main switch S, nocurrent will ow to any of the various instrumentalities and mechanismswhich are normally supplied from the battery B.

By placing the standard type ignition switch :r6 of the motor vehiclebetween the fixed contact 4| and the various circuits above described,which are normally controlled by said switch, it is obvious that a mereshort-circuiting of the ignition switch, which is a common` method of'surreptitiously starting a motor vehicle, will bei unavailing, becausethe line will be dead between the ignition switch and the fixed contact4|. Therefore, it would be impossible to shortcircuit the system whilethe main switch` S is in open circuit position, because any oneattempting to do this would be obliged to make a complete wiring back tothe battery; otherwise the generator output would blow every light.

The advantages of the invention will be under stood by those skilled inthe art to which it belongs. For instance, it is obvious that a verysimple and inexpensive masterswitch-control is provided for electriccircuits, and which possesses peculiar and especial advantage inconnection with the operating circuits of a standard motor vehicle. Animportant advantage is that it is practically impossible to by-pass theswitch surreptitiously by any of the known methods of short-circuitingthe standard type ignition switch.

Having thus explained the nature of the invention and described anoperative manner of constructing and using the same, although withoutattempting to set forth all of the forms in which it may be made, or allof the forms of its use, what is claimed is:-

1. The combination with a laterally movable slide bar, yieldable meansfor normally urging said slide bar in a lateral direction to apredetermined forward position, a pivoted cam member having a free endso positioned as to normally engage the forward side of said slide bar,means for releasably locking said slide bar against rearward movementaway from the axis of said cam member in such manner as to nor mallyprevent pivotal movement of the cam member, and means for moving the caminember, of an electric switch having a movable Contact pivotallymounted on an axis which coincides with the pivotal axis of said canimember, and means connected with the cam member for actuating saidmovable contact, said slide bar being movable rearwardly from its normalforward position and against the tension of said yieldable means, bypivotal movement cf the cam member while the slide bar is unlocked.

2. The combination with a laterally movable slide bar, yieldable meansfor normally urging said slide bar in a lateral direction to apredetermined forward position, a rotatively supported cam shaft spacedforwardly from said slide bar, a cam member mounted on said shaft andmovable therewith, said cam member having a free end normally engagingthe adjacent side of said slide bar, means for releasably locking saidslide bar against rearward movement away from said shaft in such manneras to normally prevent rotative movement of the shaft, and means formoving said shaft, of an electrical switch having a movable contactpivotally mounted on an axis which coincides with the axis of saidshaft, and means connected with said cam shaft for actuating saidmovable contact, said slide bar being movable rearwardly from said camshaft and against the tension of its yieldable means, by pivotalmovement of the cam member while the slide bar is unlocked.

3. The combination with a laterally movable slide bar, yieldable meansfor normally urging said slide bar in a lateral direction to apredetermined forward position, a rotatively supported cam shaft spacedforwardly from said slide bar, a cam member secured to said cam shaftand extended radially therefrom, its outer end being free, and normallyengaging said slide bar, means releasably locking said slide bar.against rearward movement away from said shaft, and means for operatingthe shaft, of an electric switch having a movable contact pivotallymounted on an axis which coincides with the axis of said shaft, and aresilient connection between the cam member and the movable switchmember, said slide bar being movable rearwardly from said cam shaft andagainst the tension of said yieldable means, by pivotal movement of thecam shaft while the slide bar is unlocked.

4. The combination with a laterally movable slide bar, yieldable meansfor normally urging said slide bar in a lateral direction to apredetermined forward position, a rotatively supported cam shaft spacedforwardly from said slide bar, a radially disposed cam arm secured tosaid shaft and having its outer end in normal engagement with said slidebar, and operating means secured to the other end of said shaft, of anelectric switch having a movable contact extending radially from an axiswhich coincides with the axis of said shaft, a coil spring connectingsaid cam arm and said switch arm, said slide bar being movablerearwardly from said cam shaft and against the tension of said yieldablemeans, by pivotal movement of the cam shaft while the slide bar isunlocked.

5. The combination with a laterally movable slide bar, yieldable meansfor normally urging said slide bar in a lateral direction to apredetermined forward position, a rotatively supported cam shaft spacedforwardly from said slide bar, a cam member having one end secured tosaid shaft and the other end spaced radially therefrom and in normalengagement with the adjacent side of said slide bar, and means foroperating said shaft, of an electric switch having a fixed contactconsisting of a threaded shell member and a movable contact consistingof an arm having one end pivoted on an axis which coincides with theaxis of said shaft, and resilient means connecting said cam arm and themovable switch member, said slide bar being movable rearwardly away fromthe cam shaft and against the tension of said yieldable means, bypivotal movement of said cam arm while the slide bar is unlocked.

6;. The combination with a laterally movable slide bar, yieldable meansfor normally urging said slide bar in a lateral direction to apredetermined forward position, a cam member pivotally supported at oneend and having the other end in engagement with said slide bar, andmeans for imparting pivotal movement to said cam member, of a contactstud located below the cam member and provided with a threaded extensionfor engagement with a conductor, a movable contact member pivoted tosaid stud, a fixed contact member of shell form adapted to be connectedwith another conductor, and means operatively connecting said movablecontact member with said cam member, said slide bar being movablerearwardly away from the pivotal support of the cam member, by pivotalmovement of said cam member While the slide bar is unlocked.

GEORGE T. HOSKING.

